President Nicolas Maduro announced Saturday that fewer U.S. diplomats will be allowed to work in Venezuela and visas will be required for Americans traveling there, in what amounts to a sign of deteriorating relations between the two countries.

Barack Obama “makes George W. Bush and Richard Nixon look good by comparison,” Truthdig’s editor-in-chief told Salon in an interview about his new book, “They Know Everything About You: How Data-Collecting Corporations and Snooping Government Agencies Are Destroying Democracy.”

In just a couple of years, the first human head transplant surgery is set to take place; a black hole 12 billion times the size of the sun is making scientists rethink a widely accepted theory; meanwhile, the Iranian version of street artist Banksy delves into “Iran’s turbulent past” with his work. These discoveries and more after the jump.

More than 70 percent of sex workers in the U.K. previously worked in health care, education or charities—while more than a third hold university degrees, according to one of the largest surveys of the industry ever taken.

At a meeting of the National Press Club this month, James Matlock—“one of the Cold War’s wise men”—criticized the Obama administration for publicly denigrating the Russian leadership rather than striking a conciliatory tone in the conflict over Ukraine.

Utility companies are leading the effort to reduce the benefits of “net metering”—the practice by which homeowners or businesses earn financial credit for generating electricity with renewable energy technology.